Just one drink does not make a difference…does it?
The .08 blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is a legal standard across the United States that marks the point when a driver is supposedly drunk or not drunk. A new study reveals the truth is far sketchier.
In a study in Injury Prevention, researchers from the University of California, San Diego, found the line between drunk and buzzed is not clear, and there is no BAC under which it is truly safe to drive.
By looking at data reported by the U.S. Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) database, the study suggests the following:
- There is no threshold effect, or point at which a driver can assume their driving is safe, after consuming alcohol.
- Drivers involved in an accident who have a BAC between .01 percent and .08 percent are more likely to be blamed for an accident than drivers involved in collisions who did not drink.
- Data from the study supports the recommendation of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to lower the BAC of each state to .05 percent, as is the standard in many European countries.
Buzzed drivers responsible for accidents do not suffer the same legal and administrative consequences as those with a BAC over .08 percent. But the effect of their decision to drive after having even one alcoholic drink can be devastating.
You can be impaired after even one drink.
If you are injured by a driver impaired by drugs or alcohol in Florida, talk to a skilled injury attorney in Sarasota County.